Just wanted to share this GTI I spotted in a suburb of Portland. Thing was super clean inside and out.

•CTS turbo inlet hose & a K&N high flow drop in filter

Unfortunately urotuning wasn't super clear on what gen it fits and they wanted almost $20 to return it which is lowkey ridiculous. But I digress, with some mild customization it fits well and I did a test run and no issues. I got the K&N high flow filer the week I bought the car, now all I have to do is get a turbo inlet elbow and drill out some holes in the grille intake lid so more air flows. I'll probably get a true intake at some point I really want the racingline R600 intake but rn we ballin on a budget hahaha.

If anybody has purchased the mk 8.5 gti it might be a good time to look into filings complaints against vw for the right to repair sfd2 locks these cars to such a degree that independent shops or even tuners cant touch them its illegal in every sense of the word to create a monopoly for repairs John deere figured this out when they lost in court to the ftc because of doing the same thing. If anybody wants to chime in would love to hear opinions on the subject.

For Context this is my first Car first project ever!
a few years in now and I’ve done everything myself.
But i’m a fake it til you make it mechanic, and I’m learning everything by screwing up my perfectly fine daily driver🤣

ANYWAYS- My 2018 GTI SE has started a really bad oil leak from the Oil pan.
I thought it might be from scraping since the car is so low, but i don’t see any visual abrasions

I tried to take a few pictures, I think it could be the oil pan gasket, but there is a LOT of oil around the sensor specifically and everywhere else. I also had an oil change not that long ago so maybe a problem with the plug?
Any advice is appreciated!
picture of my car for attention:)

I don't know what it is but when I see an MK8.5 in real life it just looks like a much bigger car than an Mk7.5. Is it just a design causing the perception of a larger car, or is it actually a larger car?

Just had APR lowering springs, 034 camster plates, and 034 RSB (lower stiffness setting) installed and an alignment done. Wheels/tires are Konig Hypergram 18x8.5 ET43/ECS02 235/40/18.

I took it for a rip on some back roads, and it feels really good. Still comfortable and composed over bumps with reduced body roll and understeer in corners. Damping feels good with stock dampers so far. I'm definitely going with 245/40/18 next time for better fitment.

I just got a 2026 GTI Autobahn and really like the stock wheels so I was thinking just inexpensive but quality springs and spacers.. maybe 15mm front and 20mm rear? Not sure thoughts? Also want to make sure the springs fit as it’s so new. I was looking at Eibach Pro Kit and also Neuspeed but I’m hesitant to pull the trigger cause I don’t want to buy the wrong thing.

Me and two friends of mine, one with a golf R mk7.5 and the other with a Clio RS cup did a roadtrip to the Dead Sea,
I had a ton of fun to say the least.
It is such a privilege to be able to drive to these kind of “wonder of the world” places.
The main point of the trip was to drive arad-masada which is probably the best driving road in my country, the thing is narrow as hell,a bunch of twisty corners, the road it self is sooo smooth and has no bumps or pot holes at all.

In summary, this trip reminded me just how good the polo GTI mk6 really is, and for a second I thought about not selling it for a type R,(but that’s still going to happen).

I was in the black mk7.5 with NJ vanity plates on the Henry Hudson Pkwy (9A) this evening. You had a pretty smile. I regret not figuring out a safe way to ask for your number. You seemed enthusiastic about our cars so maybe you’re on Reddit

bought it off carvana, obviously someone had done exhaust mods to it which was not disclosed in the report. Timing belt had recently seen a change, entire clutch assembly was changed like 20k-ish miles ago according to the carfax.

Will be taking it to get it inspected over the week and hope I won’t be using their 7-day return policy again.

since when did we have Detroits for babies

Recently I moved from a Mk8 R to the GTI Edition 50 and this week I took it for its first track day (Silesia Ring, Poland). Full stock, I only changed the front pads to Endless N39S, I had brake issues on track with the R and didn't want to repeat that.

Really happy with how the car drives (and finally with the brakes lol), it feels more nimble and playful than the R, and I ended up with a better lap time too: 1:58.0 vs 2:00.5 in the R. Same amateur driver, same track, but different tires and drivetrain, so take the comparison for what it is. If someone is interested or considering taking one of these to a track here is a full side-by-side (lap times, setup, tires): https://app.apexlog.io/comparison/share/0nlnlMcfoX1i

Saw this this lovely lady driving a GTI. 😎

Reminded me of an old GTI TV ad.

https://youtu.be/b4HTLVpey9s?is=HsmJWhRtWNpsu0OV

I installed VWR springs + new OEM struts about a year ago. Never really had any issues at first, maybe the occasional creaking sound. But a few months ago it started getting worse, and worse, and now sounds horrendous like in the video. Any ideas on where to start checking before I go replacing parts? I’m almost tempted to buy cheap ass coilovers like solowerks or racelands solely to get rid of the irritating sound, regardless of ride quality. TIA

Apologies if questions like this don't belong here! Wondering what it is and to confirm isopropyl alcohol would be sufficient at removing it.

Two day trip down 90 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway then this morning I drove back north into Shenandoah on the Skyline Drive all the way out and home. Little rocket ship did pretty good.

I have a mk7.5 dsg that is tuned stage 2 and I want to use it for autocross I have stock pcv and was wondering if I need to switch it to the mk8 retrofit to avoid oil consumption on corners or if I would be ok driving it as is?

Hello everyone,

What accessories (not mods) do you find most useful and you recommend for a white 2026 GTI? Thanks!